Daydreams Can Make You Confident!

Imagine being confident? Imagine what would happen if you were so confident that you could walk into a room, feeling totally secure in yourself. You could talk to anyone, anywhere. You were unruffled, relaxed and comfortable. When you read that paragraph, most likely you formed some kind of experience in your mind. This could have been either a mental picture of the experience. It could have been the sounds associated with the experience. Or it could have just been feelings associated with the experience.

We tend to dismiss people who daydream as living in a fantasy world. We think that their daydreaming is just a waste of time and has no impact on the real world. But the fact is, daydreaming can be a very valuable tool in developing your skills. For the mind uses mental images and feelings to prepare for real situations. In extreme cases, it can be difficult for the mind to distinguish between a real situation and an imagined one. You may find this hard to believe, but think about it.

You could be in the safety of your home. You could be sitting on your sofa. And if you suddenly thought of a traumatic event that was upsetting, you would immediately notice your heart rate increasing and your breathing becoming shallow. Some people can get very distressed thinking about an event, even if it was in the past. The mind is reminded of the situation and has a resultant response to it, even though you are currently safe.

We can use this response to our benefit. Olympic athletes do it. You can too. By picturing yourself as confident in different situations you are creating the feelings in your mind. This is an extension of the “fake it till you make it” strategy. If you can continue to feed your mind positive empowering images of your desired behaviour, you can influence your own actions.

So, next time you catch yourself daydreaming, don’t be so hard on yourself. If you can harness this power, you can gain confidence and make incredible improvements.